RYDE FLORA and FAUNA STUDY 2007 - City of Ryde - NSW ...

Biosphere Environmental Consultants Pty Ltd
Ryde Flora and Fauna Survey 2007 34
and the Burrows Park quadrat (41) contained less than the average of 54.5 native plant
species.
Nine quadrats were sampled in this study; five quadrats passed the classification
system while four failed. Three failed quadrats were located in Pembroke Park. The
other was the Pimelea curviflora quadrat in the Field of Mars Reserve. While they all
had the required number of native species to fulfill the classification requirements,
they were lacking in the required number of positive diagnostic species as
summarised in the following table. This decrease in diversity is usually an indication
of disturbance to the vegetation community (Ryde Flora & Fauna Study, 2006).
Table 6
Diagnostic Plant Species
Quadrat Name Number of native Number of positive diagnostic
species/required number species/required number
Somerset Rd 69/43 36/28 (+8)
Upper Strangers Creek 69/38 12/11 (+1)
Wolfe Rd 60/39 40/27 (+13)
Pidding Park 60/38 13/11 (+2)
Pimelea curviflora 53/40 16/20 (-4)
Acacia binervia 51/39 25/27 (-2)
Pembroke Park 44/43 18/28 (-10)
Coachwood / Christmas Bush 44/39 21/27 (-6)
Burrows Park 41/33 20/18 (+2)
Of the most diverse quadrats, Somerset Road and Wolfe Road are on sandstonederived
soil while Upper Strangers Creek and Pidding Park are on shale-derived soils.
The Somerset Road quadrat contains Sandstone Ridgetop Woodland, Wolfe Road is
Sandstone Gully Forest and Upper Strangers Creek and Pidding Park contain
Turpentine Ironbark Margin Forest. Fire has no doubt contributed to the high
diversity and the high number of positive diagnostic species found in the Somerset
Road and Upper Strangers Creek quadrat areas. The understorey in both quadrats is
dense with colonising species such as Dodonaea triquetra (Hop Bush) and Pimelea
linifolia (Rice Flower) and plants in the FABACEAE family. The picture is similar
for the Wolfe Road quadrat, but its fire history is unknown. The fact that the Pidding
Road quadrat straddles the shale/sandstone ecotone may explain the high diversity of
species in that park.
The Pimelea curviflora quadrat in the Field of Mars Reserve failed the classification
but there are other positive diagnostic species immediately surrounding the quadrat.
The understorey vegetation here is very different from any found in the whole
reserve: containing the FABACEAE species: Viminaria juncea, Mirbelia rubiifolia
and Sphaerolobium vimineum as well as Dianella revoluta var revoluta and the
endangered Pimelea curviflora ssp curviflora. Grass species are also plentiful:
Entolasia stricta, Anisopogon avenaceus, Aristida vagans, Austrostipa pubescens,
Dichelachne micrantha, Microlaena stipoides, Themeda australis and Eragrostis
brownii. There are also the herbs Laxmannia gracilis, Burchardia umbellata,
Hypericum gramineum and Veronica plebeia. The lower than average number of
positive diagnostic species is most likely due to fragmentation by trail bike riders and
closeness to the tire trail surrounding the cemetery. Council has recently protected the